Roommates
by brooketrout
Summary: Phil is stuck with Dan as a roommate for his first year at a pretentious boarding school for the children of the rich and successful. At first, Dan despises Phil. They soon learn that they're similar in many ways and that both of them don't feel like they fit in. The two boys face difficulties throughout the year, and get closer than they planned.
1. Chapter 1

Phil stared out the window of the car, too nervous to continue reading his book. The trees blurred into cleanly cut hedges, and Phil realized that he was almost at his new school. _Oh my god_, he thought. _I'm actually here_. He quickly shoved the book he had been reading into his bag.

"Phil," his mum called. "We're here! Are you nervous? Are you excited?"

Nervous wouldn't even begin to describe how Phil felt. He was going to a new school for kids of the rich and famous. Phil's dad was the CEO of a major company and was often away, but Phil had a kind and loving family. They had decided that Phil needed a better education than the one that he was getting in his hometown, so he was sent to this boarding school. He was worried that he wouldn't fit in or make new friends because of his social status and his lack of intelligence when it came to being generally social.

"I'm really nervous, mum. But…I, uh…you can help me carry my bags, but don't stay too long." Phil didn't want to be seen as the dork that had his mum walking around with him everywhere.

"Are you sure, sweetie?"

"Yeah." Phil said hesitantly. He knew he was going to miss her, but wasn't sure if it would be a "cool" move to be with his mum for very long. Phil just wanted to fit in.

"Okay. I'm going to check you in, alright?"

"Alright."

Suddenly, Phil could see the grand, wrought iron gates that surrounded the school. It was ancient. The car drove through them and around a bend into a huge parking lot in front of the school. The sign above the doors read "Pickerton Academy". The building itself was enormous and old. It rose up high from the ground and sprawled over the perfectly cut green lawns surrounding the school. There were other buildings Phil saw, too. The walls of all of them were made of weathered gray stone. Phil was the most intimidated he had ever been by a building.

His mum parked the car as close to the school as she could, and she got out to help Phil with his bags, which were in the trunk of the car.

"Mum, I've got it," Phil grumbled, grabbing more bags than his pale arms could carry and fumbling with them before dropping them onto the ground.

"Oh, Phil. Let me help you!" His mum insisted, picking up bags from the ground. Phil blushed a light pink with embarrassment at his clumsiness, mumbling something about how he could carry them perfectly fine and didn't need help. He grabbed the majority of the bags from the ground so had more than his mum and stated off towards the school.

When Phil reached the doors to the building, he nervously shifted his weight, looked up at the height of it, and opened the doors with an air of false confidence. His mum walked in behind him as Phil looked around, exploring his surroundings. The room Phil stood in was quite large; it seemed to be a lounge of some sort. The floor was marble and was covered in furniture, such as chairs and couches. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling. A fireplace stood in the corner of the room, but it was unlit because it was still a bit too hot for a fire. A desk stood off to the right side of the room with a short, pudgy, balding man behind it. When he heard the door close behind Phil, he looked up and motioned him to come over.

"Ah, another student! Welcome, welcome, to the Pickerton Academy! What is your name?" he asked, smiling warmly.

"Um, Phil. Phil Lester," Phil replied.

The man extended his hand towards Phil. Phil shook it and felt like the man was going to cut off his circulation.

"Ah, Phil! I'm Mister Arland. Now, how about we get you settled in, hm? What year are you in?"

"Ten."

"Good, good! Let's see…Phil Lester, year ten…." Mr. Arland muttered to himself, flipping through papers. "Ah! Here we go. Your room is in Building B, Room 221. Your roommate is Daniel Howell. Wonderful boy. He was here last year, so if you'd need anything, he'll know. I know his father. I'm sure the two of you will get along well! Now, can you find your room on you own, or would you like a tour guide?" Mr. Arland questioned.

Phil cut his mum off just as she was about to say something. "We're good. I can find it on my own, thanks."

Mr. Arland smiled at him. "Alright! Just ask anyone if you need help. Here is a map—you'll probably be needing it for your first few days of classes. You can always ask for another if you need one. You have the supplies that was mailed to you, yes?" Phil nodded. "Good. Well, Phil, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon! Good day!"

"Thanks," Phil mumbled quietly. His mum gave Mr. Arland a kind grin and walked off behind Phil.

"Oh my gosh, Phil! I'm so excited for you. I know that you don't exactly want to be here, but it's going to be a great experience for you," Phil's mum gushed.

Phil half smiled at her. She was right, he didn't want to be here. Phil wanted to be at home with his freedom and hours upon hours of alone time and computers and gaming systems. Now Phil had to share every day of his life with another human being. On the other hand, Phil was sort of looking forward to new classes, new teachers, and a fresh start. He had cut his hair into a fringe and dyed it black, which contrasted with his vibrant blue eyes. He liked the way it looked, despite his parents' complaints that his hair should be naturally coloured. As Phil made his way down to Building C, however, his nerves started to increase slightly. What if his roommate—Daniel Howell, apparently—wasn't nice? What if they didn't get along? What if he bullied Phil? Phil had had some unpleasant experiences in the past with bullies. Phil's mum walked behind him silently, not wanting to embarrass her son. Phil thanked her silently for this.

"Mum? Is this the room?" Phil asked suddenly, stopping abruptly.

The sign on the door said '221'. "It is," Phil's mum replied.

"Mum, you can leave now," Phil mumbled.

"Oh, alright. I'll write to you, ok? Have fun and be good." She gave him a hug before walking off.

Phil took a deep breath and knocking on the door. After waiting a few moments, he heard a groggy, muffled voice coming from inside the room.

"What?"

"I'm your new roommate. Can I come in?" Phil asked.

"_What_." The voice in the room sounded disappointed. "I thought you wouldn't be coming."

"Well, I'm here. And I'm coming in." Phil turned the knob on the door and opened it.

The room was incredibly clean and looked rather nice. There were two beds, two chairs, and two desks. A large window sat in the middle of the wall, showing the endless, perfectly manicured lawns of the outside. The most incredible sight, though, was Phil's roommate. He had an almost identical opposite haircut as Phil, except that it was brown. He had black earrings and wore black skinny jeans and a mostly black t-shirt. And he was _hot_.

Phil was gay. He knew he was gay. However, no one else knew. He had no friends that he was willing to tell, and he didn't feel ready to let his parents know. Phil didn't know how he could spend an entire year surrounded by a boy the likes of Daniel. Phil would probably die of heartbreak. Why did all the cute boys have to be _straight? _Maybe Dan wasn't, but Phil didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Um, hi," Phil said, clearing his throat and pushing his bags on to the floor on the side of the room that Dan hadn't taken.

"Hi," replied Daniel.

"So, uh, I'm Phil Lester. And you're Daniel…Howell?"

"Dan," Dan corrected haughtily. He glared at Phil nastily. "Listen. I did not want a roommate. I do not want _you_ as a roommate. Don't talk to me, don't look at me. We'll get along if you follow my rules. You are not going to talk to me outside of this room. You aren't going to talk to me _in_ this room. We are not going to be friends. We're going to exist in the same room but not in each other's lives. OK?"

Phil stared at Dan, slightly incredulous. Mr. Arland said that Dan Howell was nice? Liar.

"Ok," Phil squeaked. Damn it. He didn't mean to sound that pathetic and small, but there he goes, making a fool of himself.

Dan gave Phil the ultimate death glare and turned around, putting headphones on his ears and plugging them into his laptop. Within seconds, Dan seemed immersed in the internet, so Phil decided to unpack his things. He heaved the bags into his side of the room and unpacked his belongings, one by one. It felt sort of strange, unpacking, because now that he was taking things out of his bag, everything seemed very cement. Phil was actually at this school, he actually had a roommate, and he actually had a dorm. This was actually happening. He had been anticipating coming to this school for so long that it seemed surreal now that he was here.

After Phil had put everything where he decided it should go, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Phil went about his side of the room and tidied up little things; putting away the sock that fell and tucking the covers into the bed. What was he to do next? Dan was still on his laptop. Phil decided to get his out too, put on headphones, and went on tumblr. He typed an email to his mum, telling her that he had settled in well, and pressed send.

Phil was bored. He had nothing to do. There was a computer in front of him, but it wasn't interesting. He honestly just really wanted to talk to Dan. It ticked Phil off that he was being such a twat and he decided that he was going to say something to Dan whether he liked it or not.

"So, Dan. Um…would you mind showing me around the school? I don't know where anything is," Phil sputtered quietly, immediately regretting speaking after he did.

Dan froze, stopping what he was doing on the computer and pausing his music, and looked at Phil. "Excuse me?"

"Could you show me around the school? I don't know where anything is," Phil repeated, a bit nervously.

"No." Dan said shortly. "I won't. Use a map."

"Please?" Phil almost begged. He really did need someone to show him around or he was going to be lost when it came time for classes. He could use a map, but he always got mixed up when it came to reading them.

"There are maps. Don't you dare bother me again," Dan snarled.

"Could you _please_ take a break from that and show me around. Then I won't bother you again," Phil bargained, unsure of himself.

Dan glared menacingly at Phil, causing him to shrink backwards involuntarily. "I said _no_. I will _not_ show you around. Figure it out on your own."

"_Dan_. You've been here before and I haven't. Will you just show me around a building or something? Please?" Phil pleaded.

Dan looked Phil dead in the eyes. "You know what—fine. I'll show you around. Fine."

Phil was admittedly a little intimidated by Dan because of his hotness and hostility, and being as shy as he was, had no idea how he had managed to get Dan to show him around. Phil put on some shoes and waited for Dan to do the same. While standing next to the door waiting for Dan, Phil bounced nervously on his toes. Dan shot him what seemed to be his signature death glare from the floor where he was putting his shoes on and Phil ceased his bouncing.

Dan stood up and scowled. "Alright. Let's go." He walked out of the room.

Phil hurried behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Dan walked briskly down the hallway, Phil trotting along behind him, trying to keep up. Dan whispered rapidly and mostly to himself about how he didn't want to be here and he didn't want to be with Phil. Phil felt a little bad for forcing Dan to take him out here, but Dan was being very irritating and stuck up, so Phil decided that he deserved it. He was also secretly hoping that Dan would warm up to him, but didn't want to get his hopes up.

Suddenly, Dan headed straight out of the front door of the building.

"Dan? Um, where are we going?" Phil shouted after him, running to catch up.

"You wanted a tour? You're going to get a tour. We're going to go _everywhere_. All the buildings. All the classrooms. This one doesn't count because it's just a dorm building. But we're going to go _everywhere_," Dan shouted sarcastically.

This worried Phil. "Um, Dan? You don't have to. I mean, we don't even—" he was cut off.

"Oh, no. You wanted a tour. That's what you're getting," Dan yelled, sounding a bit maniacal.

"It's—really, Dan, you, um, don't need to. I'm fine with just a small tour."

"Well that's just _too fucking bad_." Phil was alarmed at Dan's cursing. He rarely heard anyone curse, especially with the type of people he had been surrounded with all his life. Everyone was old, rich and snooty, therefore looked down upon using 'foul language'.

"I—okay," Phil sighed, giving up.

Dan lead him to a huge, ancient grey stone building, similar to all the other ones on campus. He opened the heavy door for himself, but let it shut on Phil, so he had to reopen it and rush after Dan. Phil wasn't the most fit, so he was already getting out of breath from having to keep up with Dan's unnaturally fast walking pace. Inside the building, stairs lead up to higher floors and the ceiling was incredibly far away. _How is this a high school?_ Thought Phil. _It should be a museum._ Phil was jerked out of his admiring by Dan's voice, which echoed throughout the empty halls, amplifying it and making it sound richer and more melodious than Phil had previously realized.

"So this is building A. Most of the classes are in here. There's also a cafeteria. The food's weird a lot of the time so if you don't know what it is, don't eat it. There are two gyms and a pool over here, too." Dan went off down the hall and Phil walked after him. He was lead to see the cafeteria, which reminded him faintly of the Great Hall from Harry Potter. After a turn, Phil saw the gyms and the door to the pool. "Gym isn't optional for years nine and ten unless you want to try out for a sport which practices every day for an hour. There's football and basketball and a swim team and other shit."

Dan turned around and went to the main entrance of the building, then walked up the stairs to the second floor. Phil was considering asking him to slow down but was too afraid.

"This is floor two of building A. Here are some classrooms. 201 is here with Mrs. Warelson who teaches 10th year English. Over there in 202 is Mr. Adams. He does Advanced English for 10th . In 203—"

"Wait, hold on. I think I have Mr. Adams," interjected Phil.

"Good for you," Dan said, uncaring. "In 203—"

"Are you seriously going to tell me who's in every room?" Phil questioned incredulously.

"Yeah, I am. In 203—"

"That's a lot of rooms. You're going to tell me who's in _every one_? Do you even know who's in every one?" Phil was getting more comfortable with Dan, although still intimidated.

"I know _everything_ about this school. Don't test me, Phil. In room 203—" Dan was cut off yet again.

"Everything? How and why?"

"WOULD YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME?!" Dan bellowed.

"Sorry," Phil squeaked.

"_Thank_ you," Dan sighed exasperatedly. "In room 203, there's Mrs. Clemens with Maths."

Phil tuned Dan out, not really wanting to hear about every teacher in the school. He couldn't help but wondering, though…when Dan had said that he knew everything about the school, what did he mean? He obviously didn't know _everything_ about it, but why would he care enough to say that he did? This only could have been his second year in the school, so how could he know much about it? Phil shook his head. He was blowing that comment out of proportion.

"…And Mrs. Johnson's in room 222 teaching 11th year Advanced English. Over there is room 223 and Ms. Roth teaches 11th year German," Dan continued.

"Dan?"

"What, Phil?" Dan asked, uncaring.

"Can we go to the next floor? I don't really need to know about teachers other than the ones that teach my grade." Phil said quietly.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned on his heel and walked past Phil to the staircase in his scarily fast pace. Phil trotted behind him as Dan walked too quickly up the newly cleaned and waxed staircase, four steps above Phil. Suddenly, just a few stairs from the top, his fast-moving feet slipped. Phil saw it in slow motion. Dan's foot missed the next step, throwing him off balance. His other foot lost its position on the stair, and he fell. Phil didn't have time to think. Dan was falling backwards, which would cause serious injury. Phil reached his arms out, catching Dan around the waist and back and pulling him in close for more stability. Dan's eyes were widened in shock as he tried to regain his bearings. He realized that he was in Phil's arms all of a sudden, and his eyes widened even more to the size of quarters before his breathing stopped for a second. He stood upright, pushing himself away from Phil. Phil blushed pink against his pale skin, realizing what he had done. _He had just held the hot and intimidating Dan Howell in his arms. He had saved Dan from possible death_. The two boys were now on separate sides of the staircase, avoiding each other's glances. Dan's arms were crossed and a light blush brushed across his cheeks as he looked at the ground. Phil bit his lip, shifting his weight between feet, and fumbled with his hands, then walked up the stairs. Dan followed him, mush slower this time.

Dan coughed loudly and unnecessarily. Phil glanced at Dan. "Um." Phil started.

"Uh, so. Floor three. On this floor, um. Room 301. Mrs. Richards. She teaches Maths for 12th year. 302 is 12th year, and so's 303…um, there's not really any 10th year classes on this floor. Your classes are all probably going to be on the second floor or fifth floor. So, yeah," Dan faltered, looking shaken from his experience.

"Okay. Thanks. I…actually I think I'll go back to the room. If all my classes are in this building then I suppose I'll be able to just use a map. Like if they're all in one building then I'll just use a map because I'm not _that_ bad at reading them," Phil babbled. "Um, I'll just…go." Phil walked down the steps slowly and out the door, back into the dorm room, leaving Dan standing on floor three of building A wondering what just happened.

Phil rushed into his dorm room, closing the door behind him and flopping face down on the bed. _What just happened_? Dan fell down the stairs, and Phil had caught him. And now Dan was all flustered. Hostile, hot Dan was all flustered because Phil caught him! He was probably just embarrassed and thought it was weird and gay, Phil reminded himself. But he couldn't help that little shred of hope that maybe, just maybe it was just a little something more.

Phil decided to stop his thinking and go on YouTube instead. He watched some videos to get his mind off of the events that had just happened, and it worked. When Phil checked the clock by his bedside, though, he realized that thirty minutes had passed since he had left Dan gaping on floor three. He still wasn't back. What happened to him? Was he okay? Of course he was, Phil reminded himself. Dan seemed to know a lot about the school; he was probably just walking around. Doing what? Phil rolled his eyes at himself. Dan was perfectly okay, and probably hadn't wanted to be around Phil. Phil couldn't blame him for that. It had been an extremely awkward moment for both of them, and tough Dan was most likely embarrassed for showing emotion. Phil's theory was proved correct when a few minutes later, the door banged open, swinging and hitting the wall before Dan slammed it loud and hard enough that Phil was sure it should have broken.

"We are _never_ going back in public with each other. Do you hear me?" Dan yelled, towering over Phil, who was still lying on his bed. "Outside of this room, you do not know me. Do not fucking tell anyone that we're roommates. _Don't forget my rules_. I told you them earlier, and for some reason, I let you break them. That is not fucking happening again. Ever. Or you're going to regret it," Dan threatened, looking enraged.

"Okay," Phil whispered, cringing, terrified of Dan, who was looming over him. Phil hadn't realized it before, but Dan looked like he could really cause harm to Phil. And for _some reason_, Dan happened to look really attractive right now. _Damn hormones_, Phil thought.

"Remember that. We don't know each other," Dan reminded Phil, fuming.

"Okay," Phil whimpered.

Dan stormed back over to his side of the room.

"You do not come over to my side of the room," Dan stated matter-of-factly, glowering. "If anything of yours is over here, I will throw it out. If you come over here…well, you're going to wish that you hadn't." Dan walked over and moved the floor lamp over so it was in the middle of the room. "Do not pass this lamp."

Phil nodded, afraid of Dan's rage.

Dan gave Phil one last of his signature death glares before turning away and focusing only on his computer; headphones in, listening to music loud enough that Phil could faintly make out a My Chemical Romance song. Phil decided to go back to his video watching, but this time with headphones on. Dan had really taken this badly, hadn't he? Phil was quite scared of Dan's anger, and made a mental note to follow Dan's instructions. Phil snuck a glance at Dan. Why did he have to be so good looking? He was angry and hated Phil, but for _some reason_ managed to be really hot at the same time. Being a horny, gay teenage boy rooming with an extremely attractive, probably straight boy was going to be irking. _This is going to be an interesting year_, Phil thought.

* * *

Later that day, after what had probably been a few hours of constant internet browsing, blogging, and watching YouTube videos on Phil's part, Dan got up and left the room, not looking at Phil. After waiting a couple of minutes for Dan to come back, Phil checked the clock, realizing that it was 6:45 and Dan had probably gone to the cafeteria to get dinner. Phil closed his laptop and checked his appearance in the mirror, brushing his hair with his fingers and smoothing his shirt out. He was probably going to be meeting people tonight, so he had to make a good first impression. Phil turned around and stood in front of the door, staring at it and gathering his confidence. Phil took a deep breath and opened it, walking down and out of room 221, building B, and into building A. There were other kids walking into it in groups or pairs, talking and laughing, but no one gave Phil a second glance. Phil walked down the hall, following the other students and walking into the huge room.

The cafeteria seemed less intimidating and smaller when filled with people. Phil looked around and spotted Dan. Dan looked up and made eye contact with Phil before looking away. Dan had a rather pretty girl wrapped around him, and another girl was practically sitting on him. There went Phil's hopes that Dan liked guys. Whoosh, right down the drain. Dan seemed pretty popular, too; he was surrounded by people, both girls and boys. Phil paled a little bit more than he was normally but walked off to get some food.

After Phil had acquired some pizza and a bottle of water, he set off upon the task of finding a table to sit. It seemed like everybody already knew each other, and it wasn't an exaggeration. Everybody seemed to be sitting in groups of at least five. _These people have probably known each other since they were little. Their parents are all probably business partners or something_, Phil realized. After looking around, he noticed a two boys waving over to him. He speed-walked over gratefully and sat down in an empty seat. The boys weren't extremely attractive; at least, not as stunning as Dan. Damn that boy.

"Hey! Are you new here?" One of the boys asked. He was rather good looking, with curly, brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Yeah," Phil replied.

"What's your name? I'm PJ Liguori," the boy said.

"I'm Phil Lester."

"Ah, cool! This is Chris. He's my boyfriend." PJ indicated a boy with straight, light brown hair and smiled as he looked at him.

"Hey," Phil gave a little wave.

"So, where're you from?" PJ asked.

"Rossendale. Uh, you?" Phil asked, not really sure of what to say due to his lack of social skills.

"Peterborough. So, how're you liking it here so far? When'd you get in?" PJ fired.

"Late this morning. It's…nice. And huge. I don't know how I'll ever be able to navigate this place," Phil laughed.

"You'll get used to it," PJ grinned.

"Is your roommate in yet?" Chris asked.

"Um…yeah," Phil said.

"Who is it?"

"It's…um…Dan. Dan Howell," Phil decided to answer honestly. These boys didn't seem like they would talk to Dan. Phil wouldn't be breaking Dan's stupid rules if Dan didn't know.

PJ and Chris gasped, eyes wide.

"Dan _Howell_? _The_ Dan Howell? The hot one?" Chris quipped, and PJ elbowed him in the ribs. "Sorry," Chris muttered. "Oh, _fuck_. I am so sorry for you, mate. A whole year with that twat? God. My sincerest apologies."

"If you ever need to get away from him…ugh. You can always come to our room if you need," offered PJ.

"Just knock first," Chris winked, eliciting another elbow in the ribs and a slight blush from PJ.

Phil laughed, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. He already felt at home with these boys.

The rest of dinner went quite nicely. Phil laughed along with Chris and PJ, and the three of them made plans to meet up tomorrow at 7:00 for breakfast and go to their first class, which happened to have all of them. Phil admired Chris and PJ's their relationship. They seemed to both really like each other and be very compatible. Chris would make sexual jokes and had the dirtiest mind, and PJ would laugh and then tell him, jokingly, to shut up. It was adorable, and Phil just wished that he could have a boyfriend like that. The best part was, though, that they didn't treat Phil like a third wheel. Phil was just another member of their makeshift group.

Phil left after he was done dinner, leaving PJ and Chris alone (not that they minded) and went back up to his room, hoping to God that Dan wasn't in there. Phil opened the door to the room, his eyes shut in desperate hope that Dan was still eating dinner with those _girls_. When he opened them, Dan was sitting on his bed, staring at Phil as he opened the door. Phil opened his mouth to say something to Dan, but Dan turned away before Phil had the chance to even utter a sound. Dan was giving Phil the silent treatment? Fine. It was better than getting yelled at.

Phil walked over to his bedside table to check the time on clock. It was 7:30. Dinner had gone by faster than Phil had realized. He must have really been having a good time with Chris and PJ. He was really thankful to have made friends already, and had found out that he shared a few classes with them. Classes started tomorrow! He had nearly forgot about that. As for now, though, Phil decided to get into his pajamas and crawl into bed to finish the book he had started in the car ride here, then go to bed early so he would be rested. Phil picked out a comfy shirt and sweatpants and put them on, feeling self-conscious with Dan in the room. He snuggled under the covers of his bed and opened the book, getting immersed in in within seconds.

Suddenly, Phil heard a rustling in the near silent room and looked up automatically. It was the wrong time to do that. Or, the perfect time. Dan was standing in the middle of his side of the room, topless and wearing only rather tight boxers that didn't leave too much imagination. His skin was tanned and smooth. He had the most perfect collarbones. Dan's ass was the most perfect had Phil had ever seen, and Phil just wanted to—_Don't go there_, Phil reprimanded himself. _That is not the right person to be thinking that about_.

"What are you looking at?" Dan asked Phil, who was ogling obviously.

"Nothing," Phil said quickly, looking back at his book.

"Really? Because that's not what it looked like."

"I'm reading," Phil insisted, not taking his gaze away from his book.

"Sure," Dan grunted, going back to ignoring Phil.

Phil's face turned a light pink, which was clearly visible against his ebony skin. Dan glanced at Phil out of the corner of his eye and noticed, but didn't say anything. Soon, though, Phil had his nose in the book, engrossed in the fictional world he had been transported to. Without his notice, hours passed, and it was 11:00. Checking that ever useful bedside clock, Phil realized this and decided to go to bed. He looked over to where Dan was in his bed, sleeping. His beautiful face was contorted into a grimace, and his lips were moving as though he was saying something. He managed not to make a noise despite the discomfort he seemed to be in. Phil almost said something, but decided against it. He didn't want to make Dan any angrier at him than he had to be.

Phil set an alarm for early tomorrow morning and got up and turned off the lamp in the middle of the room. He nestled under the blankets of the bed and drifted off to sleep, mind wandering. Would he be able to find his classes alright tomorrow? Would he make more friends? How was Dan going to act tomorrow? Was Dan okay? These thoughts dispersed as Phil was transported into a peaceful slumber, interrupted only once by a little whimper in the darkness that was not his own.

* * *

**How's the story so far? (Should the chapters be longer?) Review, please! ^_^ If you have any suggestions for what should happen next, feel free to leave those. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Trigger warning: Bullying**

Phil was awoken by the blaring screech of an alarm. He grumbled, rolling over, and hit his clock until it stopped beeping. Phil struggled to open his eyes and finally got up, noticing that Dan wasn't in the room, and clumsily threw open drawers until he found the one containing his uniform. Now, Phil might not have had the best sense of style, but he knew for a fact that this uniform was not in any way stylish. It consisted of a navy blue blazer, a light blue polo shirt, khaki pants, and a red and blue striped tie. It was also mandatory to wear black, brown, or tan shoes and they could not be sneakers, which left Phil needing to go shopping before school had started. After pulling on the dreadful thing, Phil brushed his hair out and collected his backpack so he could head straight from breakfast to his first class with Chris and PJ. His hair was still too curly for his liking, so he headed into the bathroom with a straightening iron, hoping not to see anyone else in there. If anybody were to see him straightening his hair, it would probably result in teasing. Phil had had enough of that in his last school.

Upon entering the bathroom quietly, he noticed Dan was in there, but nobody else was. Dan was straightening his hair,too! Phil snuck back out silently and went to his room. He quickly plugged in his straightener and did his hair as fast as he could. Phil gathered his backpack and headed out before Dan could come back.

Phil walked out of the building briskly, not wanting to call attention to himself as he was nervous. He strode into the cafeteria and spotted Chris and PJ in the same spot they were in last night at dinner.

"Oi! Phil!" yelled Chris across the room.

Phil waved awkwardly, walking over and setting his backpack down on a seat, saving it. "I'll be right back—I just need to get some food," Phil explained. After going and getting some cereal and toast, he sat back down again at their table.

"How's it going? You excited for your first day here?" PJ asked.

"Ah…no!" Phil laughed.

"Aw, the first day back is always interesting," explained PJ.

"And our teacher—Mr. Adams, first period—is pretty hot," Chris added.

"I thought we were supposed to be in a _relationship_?" PJ asked Chris dramatically.

"Oh, Peej. I love you," Chris grinned.

PJ grinned back at Chris.

"Hello! Earth to Chris and PJ!" Phil interjected, smiling. PJ and Chris shifted in their seats, exchanging a glance. "What?" Phil asked, confused. What was that look for?

"We can't get very…romantic, per se…in this school, anyways," PJ explained. "Not many people are…um…excepting, exactly."

"Oh. Thanks for the warning."

"Warning?" Chris asked.

"I'm gay, too."

"Oh my gosh, what are the chances? Good luck finding a boyfriend in this place," Chris said, clapping a hand on Phil's shoulder, then looking around at the three of them. They had all finished their breakfasts. "How 'bout we go to class then, eh?"

The three boys made their way upstairs to Mr. Adams' classroom, finding seats in the back, all next to each other. Phil noticed that PJ and Chris were careful to not let it be too obvious that they were a couple. The classroom was nearly empty now, but more kids were streaming into it by the minute.

"Fags," Phil heard a voice mutter. He looked up and saw a boy, one who obviously seemed to think he was cool and popular. His shirt was loose and tie tied in a messy manner. He had hair that looked unkempt and a girl sitting next to him. She laughed at his incredibly rude remark.

Chris looked up from his staring at PJ's face for a moment to look the boy dead in the eyes. "Fuck off."

"Gaylord," the boy retorted randomly.

Chris and PJ both looked at the boy with matching expressions, unamused and unimpressed; eyebrows raised.

"Hey! You're new. Are you—are you hanging out with _them_? The faggots?" the boy said to Phil.

Phil tried ignoring him, but it didn't work.

"Hey, fag! I'm talking to you. New kid. What's your name?" the boy said.

"Faggot is not a punctuation mark," Phil said calmly, not looking at the boy.

"Oh, you talk! What's your name?"

"Phil," Phil mumbled, feeling intimidated.

"Oi, Phil! You talk to me like that again, you'll be sorry! You'd better watch your back!"

"Oh my god would you fucking _fuck off already_?" Chris exclaimed exasperatedly. "How did you even get in Advanced English, anyways? You lower the IQ of the entire floor when you open your mouth."

"You're really asking for it!" the boy yelled.

"Richard, oh my god," the girl next to the boy, whose name was presumably Richard, said.

"Shut up. I can't stand these faggots," Richard said.

"That's no way to speak to a girl," PJ interjected quietly, looking embarrassed for talking. He had gone silent during the whole conversation.

"You're telling _me_ how to talk to a girl? You—" Richard got cut off by the closing of the door. The whole class immediately went silent.

Mr. Adams waltzed into the room. Phil couldn't help but notice that Chris was, in fact, was quite right. He _is_ good looking. He was tan, quite muscly, had wide shoulders, and short, curly hair. He looked too young and too fit to be a teacher.

"Welcome, students, to Advanced English! I'm Mr. Adams, your teacher for this year. I'm excited to be teaching this class. You _all_ look like wonderful people." Chris coughed loudly and shortly, momentarily pausing Mr. Adams' speech. "I hope this year will be off to a great start. We're going to have lots of fun!"

Phil glanced at Chris, who looked at Phil and winked at him. Phil had to stifle a laugh at Chris's dirty mind and PJ gave them both a stop-it-we're-in-class glower.

"This year, we're going to be studying many forms of literature—poetry, creative writing, and, of course, essays. I hope you're all ready to learn! This year is going to harder than last year, so I hope you're all ready to study and work long and hard!" Mr. Adams continued. Chris couldn't help but snort at Mr. Adams's last remark. PJ glared at Chris with a look that told him to shut up, even though he was grinning himself. Phil tried hopelessly to cover his face so his smile didn't look conspicuous.

"Is there a problem, boys?" Mr. Adams called to the back of the classroom.

"No, sir. Sorry," replied PJ.

"Good. Now, We're going to start the year off with a poetry unit." Some of the class groaned. "We're going to be covering all types of poetry, and we're going to be covering many poets. You're going to be experts by the end of the unit! After that, we're going to be doing an essay…." Mr. Adams droned on about what they were going to cover that year. It actually seemed rather interesting to Phil. In his last school, the English program was not very good, which was disappointing, because Phil rather enjoyed writing and literature.

By the time the period had ended, all Mr. Adams had done was tell the class what to expect for the year. Therefore, no homework! Chris, PJ, and Phil all had to part ways for period two which none of them had together. For Phil, he had Maths next. Same as usual, they didn't learn anything. His teacher, Mrs. Clemens, merely explained in an overly excited voice about how enjoyable the year was going to be. _Yeah, right_, Phil thought. He was terrible at maths. The class couldn't have ended quick enough. When the bell sounded throughout the school, Phil was the second person out of the room. Next, third period was German, which passed in a flash. Luckily, his German classroom was across the hall form his math class. It passed in a confusing flash, as he didn't seem to know as much German as the rest of his class. After it finished, Phil had biology.

Phil had trouble finding this class, since he hadn't been shown where it was and he had to use a map. After fumbling with it, several things fell out of his backpack that he had to put back. When Phil finally got to the classroom, he was the last person there. Everybody's eyes were on him. Even Dan's. Because just as Phil's luck would have it, Dan Howell, his incredibly hot and infuriating roommate, was not only sharing a room with him for a year, but a biology class.

Phil found a seat in the back of the room. His classmate's eyes followed him, and Phil heard whispers of people that thought he couldn't hear them.

"Did he go here last year?"

"He's new, right?"

"Do you know what his name is?"

"Have you seen him here before?"

"That's the kid that Rich told me about!"

Rich? That couldn't be the same boy that had given Chris, PJ, and him a hard time in English class, had it? Richard was telling kids about Phil now? Fantastic. Phil was going to be known as a 'faggot' for the rest of his time at school. _Just great_. Phil thought that he had escaped that by coming here, but he hadn't even been in school for a full day and he was going to get teased for being gay. Phil let out a soft, sad sigh.

The teacher introduced herself as Ms. Henley. She was quite young and Phil supposed that she was quite good looking as far as women went. She had unnaturally blonde hair and clear skin, and wore a very stylish ensemble. From his vantage point in the back of the room, Phil could see how some of the boys looked at her and noticed that they seemed to think she was quite good looking too.

"Alright, class! I've heard that you're all a very wonderful group of students and I can't wait to teach you this year! Biology's a _wonderful_ class. It'll be very fun!" Much like all the other classes Phil had attended so far, Ms. Henley spent the entire period telling everybody what was going to happen throughout the year.

Phil couldn't help himself from glancing at the back of Dan's head, which of course had a girl's head very close—too close—to it. Phil couldn't help but admire his hair, though. It was very nice hair. It was a very nice shade of brown. Quite dark but not quite black. He had really done a good job straightening it. If Phil hadn't accidentally caught Dan doing his hair this morning, then Phil wouldn't have even noticed. That girl, though…her head was really close to Dan's. It was getting closer. Her head turned, and Phil saw her mouth move—she whispered something in Dan's ear. He glanced at her for a second, then looked back at the front of the room. She whispered something in his ear again, but Dan glared at her, shook his head slightly, and she away, hurt. She slumped in her seat and didn't look at Dan for the rest of the class.

After this class had finished, Phil went down to the cafeteria, bought some food, and sat down at Chris and PJ's usual table, waiting for them to show up. They walked in standing a little bit too close to be friendly. As they walked by the seat where Richard sat on their way over, Richard stuck his elbow out, elbowing PJ in the gut. He doubled over for a moment before straightening himself out, and he and Chris quickly walked over to Phil.

"Ow," PJ muttered.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. It just…hurt. A lot," PJ mumbled, hand on his stomach.

"Rich's a dick. He's a fucking dick. I'm going to…I'm going—" Chris was cut off by PJ.

"Chris, I'm fine. Really. It was just a little bump."

"I'm going to fucking—"

"_Chris_."

Chris huffed. "Fine."

"What's Rich's problem?" Phil asked.

"He's a homophobic cunt," Chris growled.

"Oh my god. Would you calm down," PJ said to Chris.

"Are you guys, like….openly gay?" Phil asked hesitantly.

"Oh, hell no. Not in this place," PJ answered.

"Is it that bad? Should I not let anybody know, then?" Phil asked.

"Please don't. The kids here…most of them were brought up thinking they were better than everyone else. It's a terrible habit, and it leads to—"

"Being a homophobic cunt," Chris finished.

"That's not exactly what I was going to say, but…yeah, basically," PJ agreed.

"Oh. Wait…how did you two…get together…?" Phil realized.

"Um, well, we knew each other before we went here. I got in, so PJ wanted to get in, too," Chris explained, looking fondly at PJ.

"Aw! That's so sweet!" Phil exclaimed.

"It's just a shame that we can't be together publicly in school. I mean, we're together _privately_ a_ lot_. We share a bedroom," Chris smirked and PJ elbowed him. Phil giggled, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth slightly.

Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"See you later, Phil!" Chris and PJ said at the same time.

"Bye!"

Phil made his way through the rest of the day quite uneventfully. As a matter of fact, the next few days were quite uneventful. Come Friday, Dan still had barely said a word to him, the classes had progressed, but not much had happened, and the girls that sat practically on Dan still sat practically on Dan. Phil learned that their names were Daphne, Avery, and Lily. The girl that sat next to him in biology was Lily. The lamp separating the room was still in place, and Phil hadn't crossed it. Phil did his hair in their room surreptitiously each morning while Dan did his in the bathroom. Phil hadn't said anything to Dan about it—mostly because he was too afraid to.

Friday at lunch, Chris and PJ invited Phil to their room after school.

"Dan must be horrible to share a room with. We wouldn't mind if you came to ours after school today," PJ offered.

"I thought we were going to try that new toy out," Chris grumbled.

"Chris!" PJ hissed, mortified, a blush spreading over his cheeks.

Phil's eyes widened.

"We are _not_ going to do that now, so if you want to meet me or Chris near the doors to building A at the end of the day, we'll take you over to our room. We could do homework or something," PJ said.

"I'd love to come. Thank you. I am getting pretty tired of Dan," Phil affirmed.

Chris looked a little grumpy. "Yeah. One of us'll be there. But PJ," Chris said, "we _are_ going to try it out at some point, right? It cost money, y'know."

PJ blushed a bright crimson. "I'd _appreciate it_ if you didn't go telling people about our sex life, Chris."

"Sorry. But it makes you blush and that's adorable."

That made PJ blush even more. Phil couldn't help but smile at their playfulness. They were the most adorable, loving couple and it was such a shame that they couldn't be open about it just because people couldn't handle their relationship.

After lunch was over and Phil finished his last classes of the day, he went over to the doors of building A. Chris was waiting for him, and waved him over.

"Hey!"

"Hi, Chris!" exclaimed Phil.

"Come on. We're dorm building D." Chris snorted. "It's a bit of a walk,"

"Okay."

"So, what're you doing this weekend? You're going back to your house, right?" inquired Chris.

"No. My parents are really busy. That's actually part of the reason why I'm going to this boarding school," Phil explained.

"Oh, that's a shame. At least you'll get your room to yourself this weekend, though. Most people go back to their homes on the weekends, and Dan will, too, probably," said Chris.

"I hope so. He never talks to me. It's all just grunts and glares."

"At least he's not yelled at you. That'd be worse."

"Oh, he has."

"What? Really?" asked Chris.

"Yeah…we had a bit of an…incident, and he got really angry. That's why he doesn't talk to me," Phil enlightened.

"What happened?"

"Well…he doesn't want me to tell you. But you're not going to say anything, right?" Phil questioned.

"Of course not."

"Okay. Well, he was taking me around the school, because, like, I asked him to. And he slipped on some stairs and I caught him."

"You _what_?" asked Chris in disbelief.

"Well, he was going to break his neck or something! I didn't even think. I just had to catch him," defended Phil.

"Wow. Well, here's the room," Chris stopped walking and knocked on the door.

PJ opened it, smiling. Chris and Phil stepped in, Chris closing the door behind them and checking that it was locked.

"Hey, guys!" PJ exclaimed.

Phil waved.

"Hey, Peej," Chris said.

Chris almost immediately embraced PJ, and they kissed for a few moments before pulling away. PJ cleared his throat and Chris smiled in a proud, slightly smug manner.

"So, we can do whatever. I guess we should finish homework, but we don't have to," suggested PJ.

"Nah, let's do it. Get it over with," Chris said.

"Yeah," Phil added.

The boys got out their books and sprawled over the room, PJ and Chris next to each other, occasionally exchanging a few quick, chaste kisses while doing their homework. Laughter and good spirits filled the air, and the time flew by. Before Phil knew it, it was ten o'clock, and curfew was in two hours. They had finished their homework long ago, and were now just talking and laughing.

"Oh my gosh! It's ten already! I should go soon. I don't want to get caught after curfew," Phil realized.

"No way! The time really flew by. I guess we'll see you Monday," PJ said.

"Sorry we're leaving you here all weekend, mate. But PJ's parents aren't going to be home this weekend," Chris grinned.

PJ just laughed. "It's quite a rare occurrence, so we have to take advantage of it."

Phil left smiling. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten, being friends with Chris and PJ. He walked out of their dorm building with his backpack into the dark, inky night. The clouds obscured the moon only partially, and Phil thought that he could even see some stars. He felt warm and fuzzy inside—not even having to back to the room he shared with Dan could ruin his mood. Chris and PJ were the best people he could have hoped to meet. Phil cut through the courtyard. As he rounded the corner, though, he saw a horrible sight that put him right out of his good mood.

A gang of people were standing in the middle of the courtyard, talking and yelling loudly. Phil swore he heard a voice that sounded like Richard's. How was Phil going to get out of here? This was the only way he knew to get to building B. Phil walked slowly and quietly on the gravel which crunched under his feet, hoping to god that they wouldn't notice him.

"Hey! Who's that?" someone called.

_No no no. Keep walking. Maybe they didn't notice me. Maybe they're talking to somebody else_, Phil thought.

"Get over here!"

Phil sprinted. They were talking to him, he knew it. But Phil couldn't run very fast, as he wasn't in the best shape. Phil heard footsteps behind him. They were too close. Phil's backpack bounced on his back, slowing him down. Suddenly, a rock caught his foot and Phil was on the ground, backpack a few feet away, moaning in pain. He had managed to break his fall with his hands, which stung like hell. The gravel had broken the skin, he was sure of it.

"Hey! Who the fuck—OI! GUYS! It's the faggot!" the person called. Phil went to get up, but a foot was on his back, holding him down.

"Look who it is!" Phil heard Richard say as he walked over. Phil was positive that it was Richard.

"Fucking faggot," Richard said, kicking Phil in the side. "What're you doing here, huh? You were hanging out with the fags today, weren't you?"

Richard kicked Phil in the side once more, and Phil grunted in pain. "Are you going to answer me? Huh?"

"What did I do? Let me go. I won't bother you," Phil pleaded.

"What did you do? You're disgusting. You're going to bother me being gay. I suggest you stop or you're really going to take back your stupid choice," Richard growled.

"It's not—OW!" Phil whimpered after getting kicked especially hard.

"Shut up! Get out! If you tell anyone, you're…you're really going to wish you hadn't," threatened Richard.

Phil got up and ran. He grabbed his backpack and sprinted towards into his room as fast as he could trying to ignore the shooting pains in his side, tears forming in his eyes. Jeers were called out behind him until he was far enough away.

Phil burst into the dorm room, completely forgetting about Dan.

"Phil, what the fuck-oh my _god_, are you _crying_?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review, and if you have any suggestions for the story, feel free to to tell me :) I'm not going to make any promises, but hopefully the next chapter should be up soon! If you have any opinions about the pacing in this chapter, you can tell me those, too (Nicely, please).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: Some blood (it's not gory)**

"N-no!" Phil stammered, hastily wiping at his eyes.

"Phil, you're crying," Dan stated, face emotionless.

"I-I'm not!" Phil stuttered. He turned away from Dan, too distraught to realize that Dan was _actually talking to him_, when he hadn't said a word to Phil for the entire week.

"Phil. What the _actual fuck_!" Dan sounded…angry? This confused Phil.

Phil sniffled and wiped his nose, ignoring Dan.

"Phil! I'm talking to you!"

Phil didn't know what to do then, so he stood, facing away from Dan, trying not to start sobbing.

"Wh—you're bleeding, Phil!" Dan yelled. "What the _fuck_? Your shirt has blood on it!"

Richard must have kicked him harder than he had realized, and now he was bleeding. No wonder it hurt so much. The pain brought more tears to Phil's eyes, and looking down, Phil saw that the side of his button down uniform shirt—the right side where Richard had kicked him—was indeed bloodied, and Phil felt a bit dizzy. Dan pointed Phil's injury out…but why? What was Dan's issue? Why did he seem to care all of a sudden?

"Phil, answer me! What the _fuck_ happened?" Dan yelled.

"I-I fell!" Phil partially lied, too scared to continue evading Dan.

"Bullshit."

"I did!" insisted Phil.

"And what happened after you fell?" Dan queried. Phil still hadn't turned to look at him.

"I got up."

"Sure. What—did you fall down two flights of stairs?"

"No."

"Well then, what exactly happened?"

"What's it to you?" Phil yelled back, suddenly angry. "You don't say anything to me for a week, then you suddenly start caring when I get hurt?"

"You're out until ten thirty on a Friday night and then you come back crying with fucked up hands and a bloody shirt! Maybe I'm worried!" Dan blurted.

Phil froze his sniveling and turned slowly around to look at Dan. "You…what? Worried? About…_me_?"

"I…" Dan covered his face in his hands and then threw his hands away from his face, making a noise of anger and frustration. "Urgh! I just…that's not what I meant."

"Oh," Phil said quietly. He got his hopes up for a second, thinking that maybe even if Dan wasn't gay, maybe they could even at least have a chance at being friends. But no. No, Dan didn't care about him after all.

"No! I didn't…you're bleeding. Let's inspect that cut," Dan said finally.

Phil gaped in disbelief at Dan's actions. "What?"

"You're bleeding and won't tell me what happened, so I need to make sure that whatever you have won't get infected," Dan grumbled.

"Um," Phil mumbled, unsure of what was wrong with Dan.

"Take off your shirt; I'll go get a first aid kit. Unless you want to go to the nurse's office," Dan sneered. He turned around, opened the door, and walked out into the hallway, leaving Phil now sitting down on his bed. His eyes were red-rimmed and his nose runny, and the incessant pain in his side not helping to clear them up. Phil's hands stung but he didn't look at them. He was still in shock from the way Dan was acting. Or was he acting? Phil was so confused—he had no idea what was going on with Dan. He wasn't going to take his shirt off as Dan had told him to—he was probably going to make fun of Phil—_but damn, was that hot_.

Dan walked into the room with a little white box in his hands, shutting and locking the door to the room, then walking over to where Phil was sitting wide-eyed on his bed.

"You need to take your shirt off or I can't do anything about your cut," Dan muttered, ears going a little pink.

"Maybe I don't want you doing anything about it. I can take care of it myself," shot Phil defensively. He was very self-conscious of his body, especially around Dan.

"Oh? Fine, then. If you can take care of yourself, go ahead." Dan said sarcastically.

"I will," Phil pronounced.

"Fine."

Dan got up and walked across the room, sitting down on his own bed and not bothering with what Phil was doing. Phil opened the first aid kit and inspected the contents. There was gauze, a tube of antiseptic, a pack of assorted band aids, tweezers, an ice pack (the weird kind that he didn't know how to use), and a variety of other things that he didn't know what to do with. After glancing at Dan to make sure that he wasn't looking at him, Phil unbuttoned his shirt, gingerly taking it off and balling it up next to him. He now inspected his injury. He had a large bruise already forming on his right side and several scrapes. A particularly large wound was bleeding, making Phil feel dizzy at the sight of it. He had never been good with the sight of blood. As a child, he had outright fainted once after cutting himself with a needle. His head was spinning. The beige carpeted floor was tilting. Phil laid down, shutting his eyes and trying his hardest to ignore the intense pain that only got worse with movement.

"Phil?" he heard Dan call. "Are you okay?"

Phil groaned in response, trying to clear his head.

Suddenly, there was a pressure on his green and blue quilted bed. What was Dan doing? Phil tried to open his eyes, but the tilting, blurry room only made him feel worse. He felt a hand on his chest.

"Phil, sit up or roll over."

Phil felt too dizzy to ignore Dan or sit up, so he rolled over onto his left side. He heard Dan gasp quietly when he saw the mess that was Phil's injury.

"I'll be right back. If you need to throw up or anything, uh…" A dragging noise filled the room for a moment. "Use this trashcan. I need to get something."

The door opened and closed. Phil felt his head clearing, but his pain rendered him unable to do anything. He lie motionless and silent until Dan came back. Phil saw Dan come back into the room with a washcloth and a bowl.

"Um, this might hurt but I need you to stay still," Dan said.

Phil groaned quietly, nodding his head a little. Dan took this as a go-ahead, and Phil watched as Dan dipped the washcloth in the bowl and brought it out dripping.

"It's just water," he reassured. "I need to clean this before I can do anything else."

Dan ever so softly rested the washcloth down on Phil's side, and it stung. Phil winced, but then relaxed as he got used to it, resting his head down onto the soft blankets of his bed. He opened his eyes to look at Dan, who seemed to be very immersed in his work on cleaning Phil's injury. Dan slowly dabbed at the cuts and bruises littering Phil's side, cleaning the dried blood from his body. He used such little pressure and did it so skillfully, so gently that Phil barely felt anything besides the warmth of the washcloth. Dan's hands created butterflies in Phil's stomach. He definitely had a crush on Dan, Phil realized. He might be a twat most of the time, but right now he wasn't. Dan seemed so caring, and Phil longed for him to be this way more often. He relaxed, eyes closed, into the soft bed and Dan's warm touches.

A minute or two passed in silence, Dan seemingly oblivious to the world and Phil in bliss, when Dan stopped, putting the washcloth into the bowl of water.

"Okay, so it's pretty clean, but still bleeding. I'll need to put some of this antiseptic cream on it, then I'll have to wrap your side in the gauze. This is a fucking huge cut but it's not deep. Uh, you need to sit up for this," Dan added.

Phil nodded and complied in a sleepy daze, even though it hurt. Dan opened the bottle and put some of the cream on his fingers, then rubbed it onto Phil's side. It was cool and slightly numbing, providing instant relief. Dan's hands worked it all over Phil's right side; onto all the bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Dan then took the roll of gauze from the kit and carefully and gently started wrapping it around Phil's torso, compressing the injuries.

"Lift your arms," murmured Dan, so he could get better access to Phil's body. Phil did as he was asked. When Dan was finished, he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"It shouldn't take too long to heal—no longer than two or three weeks, one at the absolute quickest. You'll need to replace the gauze tomorrow when you take a shower," Dan informed Phil.

Dan was going back home this weekend, wasn't he? Just like everybody else in the school. People went home on the weekends, but Phil's family was too busy to have him home—for this weekend, at least. And probably the next weekend. And the weekend after that. Phil would practically have the entire school to himself for two whole days. How weird and lonely that would be.

"Okay. Thanks, Dan," Phil said quietly, with tiredness clearly present in his voice. "I'll manage while you're away."

"Away?" Dan asked. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you going home this weekend to see your family?" inquired Phil, confused.

"This _is_ my home. My dad owns the school. My family lives in a huge mansion on the school property," Dan explained.

"Wow. Wait—then why do you have a dorm? Can't you just stay at home?"

"I'm sick and tired of the people in my house. There's a lot of pressure to be perfect and I can't stand it," Dan mumbled.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

'Well, g'night, Dan."

"Night, Phil," Dan said, getting off the bed and stripping into boxers (it was still incredibly hot and Phil couldn't help but admire Dan's flawless body and amazing ass) before turning off the lamp that was still in the middle of the room and slipping under the covers. Phil stayed on top of the bed sheets, not wanting to irritate his injury with friction. Although the pain was somewhat lessened, it was still there and it kept Phil awake. He lie there motionless and a little cold, wishing for sleep to consume him.

Phil was awoken a few hours later to familiar whimpers from the other side of the room. Dan seemed to have nightmares every single night, and Dan's little noises kept Phil awake. What could Dan be dreaming about? Was it something that happened to him, or was it just made up? Phil had so many questions about the boy on the other side of the room that he thought he was never going to have the answers to. It seemed like it was a miracle that had made Dan finally, _finally_ talk to him, and Phil wasn't going to get his hopes up thinking that Dan would act this way again. In fact, Phil wouldn't be surprised if the next morning, Dan didn't bring up anything about this night and ignored him. It was disappointing but it was also Dan's nature. Phil would never be able to do anything about his hopeless crush on that boy. Phil soon fell asleep, swirling thoughts smothered by sleep.

The morning light filtered through the open curtains on the windows, falling onto Phil's sleeping face. He opened his eyes and then shielded them from the sun with his blanket covered arm, blinking.

"You awake?" Phil heard Dan call from across the room.

Phil made a noise of discontent, and Dan laughed.

"You'd better be; it's eleven in the morning and everybody's left already," Dan announced.

"Already?" Phil grumbled.

"This school isn't exactly the ideal place for people to spend their weekends, if you hadn't noticed. Now, I need to inspect your injury. Get up, come on," Dan said.

Phil rolled out of his bed, only wearing sweatpants. Dan got off his bed, walked across the room and sat next to Phil, ready with a bowl and clean washcloth. His hair was already straightened. _He must have been up for a while_, Phil realized. Dan gingerly unwrapped the gauze from Phil's torso, Phil shivering at their proximity to each other and Dan's gentle touches. The gauze was slightly bloodied and Phil's side had dried blood on it.

"Okay, I'll need to clean this up. Tell me if it hurts, ok? I don't want to reopen your injury," Dan told Phil.

"Uh, okay," Phil answered, confused. Where had this nice Dan come from? Did it have something to do with it being the weekend and nobody being here? Maybe Dan's hostility was just a façade. He wasn't going to complain, though—this was something he could get used to. Not only was Dan nice like this, but it was downright adorable. He was still hot, but now he was adorable, too.

Dan carefully dabbed at Phil's side with the warm, damp washcloth until he was clean, both of them sitting in silence. When Dan finished, he wrapped Phil's injury with fresh gauze.

"Are you gonna tell me how this happened?" Dan asked him.

"Nope," Phil replied. He didn't Dan to think that he was weak or to pity him—or worse, make fun of him. He couldn't trust Dan now; he was being too confusing.

"Why not?" Dan asked, standing up and lazily draping himself backwards across Phil's desk chair.

"B-because. I-it's not important," Phil managed out, flustered by how attractive Dan looked right now. He had really long, beautiful legs that Phil just wanted to…_Oh, no. Shush!_ Phil reprimanded himself. _Don't get all gay on him._ Phil had really exercised the most amount of self-control this week over his thoughts that he thought he could.

"Well, _I_ think it is. Seriously. What happened?" inquired Dan.

"What does it matter to you?" Phil growled.

"I thought we went over this last night, Phil! Just tell me what the fuck happened!"

"Why?"

"Because maybe I want to know!"

"It doesn't matter! Just stop, okay? It's not a big deal." Phil got up and pulled on a clean shirt. "I'm going to get ready. Don't—don't bring this up again. It doesn't matter." Phil left the room to go take a morning shower, taking care not to get the gauze wet. When he was finished, he went back to the room, opening the door quietly and walking in. Dan was sat back on his bed and didn't acknowledge Phil. He didn't even look at him. _Normal Dan is back_, Phil thought. Phil went back over to his side of the room, not wanting to risk angering Dan by "trespassing" on his space. There was a tangible tension in the air.

Phil wasn't quite sure what to do. Should he ignore Dan? Should he admit what had actually happened? Phil decided on neither.

"Dan?"

"Mmph."

"If you want me to tell you what happened, you'll have to tell me something, too," Phil bargained.

"What?" asked Dan, confused. He instantly broke out of his ignoring Phil act because of the intrigue.

"What do you dream about?" Phil asked blatantly.

"What do I—what?"

"Well, if you want to know something personal about me, it's only fair that I learn something personal about you," reasoned Phil.

Dan grunted. "Fine, I'll stop bothering you."

"No, Dan. I really want to know. You keep me awake at night."

"Ha ha. Am I that mystifying?" Dan asked sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. You're very…loud at night."

Dan blanched. "It's nothing," he muttered.

"Okay," Phil decided drop the subject and stop prying. He had gotten confident—too confident, it seemed—with Dan lately, and he didn't want to push his luck. Phil sat on his bed in silence, listening to the clicks of Dan's computer. He opened his book and started reading, even though he couldn't quite concentrate, so much was the silence of the room. Phil had discovered in his first week at the school that it was actually quite hard to concentrate with Dan anywhere near him. He was so freaking _attractive_…. Phil couldn't keep his mind from wandering to thoughts about how he wanted to pull that stupid, perfectly styled brown hair. Or kiss those annoyingly perfect full, pink lips. And stare for eternity into those golden brown eyes. It kept him from doing his homework, from sleeping. From reading.

Half an hour later at about 12:00 in the afternoon, Phil's stomach rumbled loudly and he realized that he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

"Um, Dan?"

"Hm."

"Does the cafeteria have food now?" Phil asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Dan grunted.

"I'm gonna go down to get some. Uh, if you want to come with me…" Phil trailed off.

"Why?" Dan asked, not breaking his gaze from the computer.

"I dunno. If you're hungry, I guess?"

"I'm not."

"Okay. I'll just go eat by myself, then," Phil declared. He pulled on some jeans in case somebody was there and he didn't want to look like a mess in front of them. Walking the empty halls of the school, Phil was amazed by the silence permeating the building. The usually bustling, crowded corridors filled with talking students was now devoid of any being besides Phil. The floors looked freshly cleaned, probably done by the janitors. It was a shame that their hard work was going to be ruined so fast, come Monday.

Entering the cafeteria and quickly getting food, Phil sat down at his usual table, despite the fact that there were only two other students in the cafeteria. He ate his food quickly, not wanting to prolong the palpable awkwardness between him and the other two teenagers in there. Not looking up, Phil shoved his sandwich into his mouth, trying to finish it as fast as he could.

Suddenly, somebody sat next to Phil. He looked up and did a double take. _Dan_ was sitting next to him? In public? Well, it wasn't exactly public, seeing as there were only two other people in the room, but still. What had gotten into him this weekend? Dan didn't look at Phil, or even acknowledge that he was there as he ate his own sandwich. Phil shook his head and got back to eating. Neither boy said anything to the other; they just sat and ate in silence.

Upon finishing, Phil got up and threw away his trash. He walked out of building A and onto the gravel pathway that lead him to his dorm building, relishing the miraculously sunny afternoon and perfectly manicured green grass. The birds were chirping and the sky was actually blue instead of gray, and Phil decided that there was no way he could spend the rest of the day inside. He found a bench and closed his eyes, listening to the wind rustle the leaves of the trees and the chirping of the birds. A body suddenly sat down next to him, and peeking an eye open, Phil confirmed his suspicions—it was, in fact, Dan.

"Hey, Dan."

"Hey," Dan replied.

Phil decided not to try initiating conversation, as Dan didn't seem to be up for it at the moment. Instead, they both sat in silence.

A few minutes later, Phil decided to try again. "So, it's really nice today, isn't it?"

"Yeah," came Dan's short answer.

"I can't believe the sun is actually shining," Phil continued to attempt.

"Mm-hm."

"Dan, come on, talk to me!" Phil said, exasperated.

"I am! What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Something that would contribute to the conversation?"

"Mm…no."

Phil sighed. "Well, I guess I've had enough for now. I'll see you later." He got up and started walking. Dan followed after him.

They walked in now familiar awkward silence until they got to the dorm, Dan shutting and locking the door behind them. Phil sat on his bed, but instead of Dan going to his own, he sat next to Phil. Phil couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, Dan. What's gotten into you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Dan defensively.

"You don't look at me for a week and then you're taking care of me! Then you don't talk to me again! Why?" inquired Phil.

"That's not important."

"Well, I think it is. I want to know, Dan," Phil insisted.

"Shut the fuck up," Dan glared, standing up.

Phil widened his eyes in shock. What did he say? Why was Dan angry?

"Sorry," he muttered shyly.

"You'd better be," Dan growled. "I'll be back later tonight. Don't you even _think_ about touching anything I own."

And with that, Dan got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. What had Phil done?

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I don't know when Chapter 5 will be up, but it won't be for about two weeks (sorry .-.) Please review! And if you have any ideas for what you want to happen next, you can absolutely tell me :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Phil was jolted out of his book induced fantasy when the door slammed open, then closed. He looked up, bright blue eyes wide, at Dan Howell, the incredibly attractive boy standing in the doorway who was soaked head to toe with water. His black t-shirt was sticking to his body, and his shorts were halfway down his butt which exposed his partially see-through white and red checked boxers. Dan's brown hair was plastered to his face and dripped water into his eyes.

Dan promptly walked over to his side of the room and stripped down to his boxers, then shook his hair out, spraying water around the room. Some water droplets got onto Phil's book.

"Don't look," Dan yelled at Phil, and Phil quickly adverted his eyes whilst Dan put on some dry boxers.

After a few moments and the rustling of fabric against skin, Phil nervously asked, "Can I look yet?" not wanting to anger Dan. He was looking at the wall next to his bed and it was starting to hurt his neck.

"Sure."

"Uh…what happened?" Phil asked. Was it raining? It couldn't have been—it was so nice and sunny a few hours ago. What a shame. Well, there's England for you. However, Dan, although wet and probably cold, seemed to be in a much better emotional situation than earlier. Whatever he had done or wherever he had been, had seemed to put him in relatively better spirits.

"Rain," Dan grunted. He didn't do it hostilely; he just seemed tired.

"Where were you?" inquired Phil tentatively. He didn't want to anger Dan, as he seemed to rise to anger very quickly and especially when asked personal questions. He was avoiding something, Phil could tell. What did he want to hide?

"Outside," answered Dan shortly. Phil didn't ask anything else, as he could tell that Dan wasn't going to answer them and he didn't want to risk getting yelled at.

"Oh," Phil replied softly, looking at the clock next to his bed. The glowing numbers showed that it was only 8:00. Phil decided to read, and he read until his eyes were burning and struggling to distinguish the words from each other as they blurred into a fuzzy, jumbled black mess and melted across the pages. He fell asleep at 3:00 AM with a finished book.

Phil awoke with a jolt to the loud rumbling of thunder, followed quickly by a flash of lightning. He heard the wind howling outside and the rain pelting the windows with extreme force. But even though the sounds of the storm were loud, they couldn't smother Dan's unconscious whimpers. As a matter of fact, Dan's sounds seemed to be competing with the storm outside. The whimpers gradually turned into cries, and Phil swore he heard Dan mumble something that sounded like, "I can't!" Suddenly, Dan emitted a bloodcurdling scream. It was loud and deafening and _thank God there was practically nobody else in the school_.

Dan awoke with tears staining his pillow, gasping for breath and trying to control his erratic breathing. He felt adrenaline pump through his veins, making him feel alert and even more terrified. His dream was bad enough, but it was dark and storming outside, too. Then he remembered something: Phil was in the room with him. _Phil was in the room_. Phil most definitely would have heard him and could probably see him, too. Shit.

"Um, Dan?" Phil asked tentatively. He could hear Dan's fast and heavy breathing, and wondered if he was okay.

Dan didn't answer. He was too busy trying to get a fucking grip on himself.

Phil got up and walked over to Dan, towering over the other boy. Dan realized he had tears streaming down his face and wiped them away.

"Dan, are you okay?" Phil asked softly, trying to be as kind as possible. He didn't want Dan to lash out at him.

"I'm…fine," Dan choked out.

"No, you're not. What happened?"

"It's none of your fucking business, Phil," Dan gasped between shudders, sobs, and breaths. Even though he was struggling, he was still trying to appear stronger and in charge. In that moment, Phil pitied him. Dan's hostility was a façade, and Phil saw right through it.

"Do you know what? It is. It is completely my…uh, business. We share a room, and we're going to be for a year. I think I deserve to know what you dream about every night," Phil said.

"I don't want to…talk about it. Not yet," Dan managed.

Phil sat on Dan's bed and carefully, gently placed a hand on Dan's head. He wove his fingers in the other boy's hair. Later, he would use the excuse that he was too sleep-drunk to realize what he was doing. But now it didn't matter. Phil saw Dan, sweating, shuddering, tears silently streaming down his face and fists holding for dear life onto the sheets. He saw Dan's warm, brown eyes clench shut and brown hair messy and not styled. Phil saw a vulnerable boy that needed help in this moment, no matter how he had acted earlier. So Phil reciprocated. He rubbed Dan's head soothingly and whispered calming things to him. Dan seemed to start calming down.

"Phil," Dan gasped suddenly, "It was so _horrible_. H-he…he was there again. I've never _seen_ him, Phil! I never _did_ anything! B-but he comes _back_, every night. And I can't h-help him! He gets so angry. He gets so _angry_, Phil!" Dan started sobbing again.

"Dan, Dan, you're okay. You're okay. Shh, shh. It was just a dream," Phil soothed.

"That's what scares me so much," Dan whimpered, going into another round of sobs. On a spur of the moment decision, Phil scooted Dan over in the bed and crawled in next to him under the covers. He didn't really care that Dan would probably yell at him in the morning. Phil was now able to wrap his arms around Dan's bare torso, who tucked his head into Phil's chest and stained his shirt with terrified tears. Phil was very aware of Dan's lack of clothing, but he wasn't focused on that now. In an attempt to calm Dan, Phil whispered "Shh, shh, shh. You're okay. You're okay. Shh," like a mantra. Slowly, Dan's sobs subsided. His shoulders stopped their shaking and his breathing calmed.

Phil looked down at the boy wrapped in his arms and realized he was asleep. Phil was quite tired too, and he shut his eyes.

A loud clap of thunder jostled Phil from his sleep, and he woke up disoriented. He wasn't in his bed…but he was in his room. All of a sudden, last night's events rushed into his mind. The storm, the nightmare, _Dan, _who shouldn't be able to look so good while crying and sniveling. Phil became acutely aware of the warmth of the boy curled up against him and panicked. What was Dan going to think when he awoke and realized that Phil's arms were wrapped around him? Phil decided that he didn't exactly want to find out, so he slowly and carefully pulled the covers back and got out of the bed, not being able to help himself an appreciative look over Dan. _His smooth, tan skin that Phil just wanted to touch and caress and kiss and—_Phil cut his thoughts off before they could wander into more dangerous waters.

Limberly climbing out of the bed, Phil made sure not to touch Dan any more than he had to and then tucked the covers around the other boy to keep him warm. Looking over at the ever useful bedside clock, Phil noticed that it was about seven o'clock and there wasn't really any point in going back to sleep. Instead, he got out his computer and went on tumblr to waste away time until Dan started doing something. Around an hour later, Phil heard a garbled and intelligible grumble from across the room. He paused and looked over at Dan, who yawned and stretched his arms out behind his head.

Dan looked apprehensively over at Phil as if he needed confirmation that last night had really happened, and then looked confused when he saw that Phil wasn't in the bed with him. Phil wasn't quite sure what to say.

"So, uh…" Phil trailed off, "About last night…"

"Uh."

"Can I…ask you about it?" Phil asked, unsure.

Dan sighed. "Maybe."

"What happened?"

"I had a nightmare. And a you pointed out earlier, I have them just about every night," Dan huffed.

"Can I ask you about what? You kind of mentioned it, I just wasn't sure…" Phil didn't want to anger Dan after seeing how harshly he reacted to some things.

"I…"Dan put his head in his hand. "Look, Phil, you deserve to know. But it's too early for this shit. Later. I don't know if that's going to be today or in five months. Just…later."

"Okay." Phil respected Dan's decision.

"But, um…about last night…were you actually…did we literally, like, _sleep in the same bed_? Because I'm not gay, Phil. I don't know why I let you do that, but it's not happening again. I don't know if you're gay or whatever, but…yeah, just…no," Dan said awkwardly.

"Oh. Yeah, of course," Phil said. _Dammit!_ "But, like, would it bother you if I was gay…?" Phil blurted.

Dan's eyes went as round and wide as galleons. "Uh, no?"

"Oh. Well, good, 'cause I am."

"You're gay," Dan stated in seeming disbelief.

"You said you wouldn't have a problem with it…" Phil reminded Dan timidly.

"I don't. I dunno, you just…you don't seem very gay."

"Oh," Phil said, and nonchalantly went back to scrolling through tumblr.

"Like, I didn't meant that as an insult, I just—"

Phil grunted.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what?'

"Nothing."

"Fine."

The boys sat in awkward silence.

"Dan?" Phil asked.

"What?"

"Can I ask you something? Promise you won't get angry at me."

Dan looked dead at Phil, and Phil could see the badly concealed panic in his eyes.

"Depends."

"Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?" Phil held his breath. This was the question that had made Dan storm out of the room last night and come back soaking wet. This was the question that had sparked Dan's immediate fury.

"I…Phil, I don't want to be mean to you." Dan looked away. "But there's a certain way I have to be, and you…you make it impossible. So, I can't be friends with you, and you can't be friends with me. That's just the way it is. But nobody's here on the weekends, so I…I don't have to be the bad guy anymore. I don't _want_ to be mean, Phil. But that's just the way I was raised. But if word gets out that I'm…friends…with you, that I'm spending time with you…I'd be ruined. No—everybody would ruin me."

Phil looked at Dan in shock. Dan thought that being friends with Phil would ruin his reputation or something, so _that's_ why he was mean? Wow. Phil didn't know whether to be awed or offended. He decided on both, but "oh," was his only reply. Dan sighed and shook his head.

"I…Phil, I want to be friends with you. I want to be nice you. But I can't let anybody know about it, and if I were to slip up…the consequences would be disastrous."

"Well then, how about we're just friends on weekends?" Phil suggested timidly.

"I…what?"

"Well, you could be indifferent to me during the week or whatever, but on the weekends, we could be friends," Phil explained.

"Phil, I've thought about that, and I just don't know."

"We could just give it a go. Let's be friends today, and then tomorrow you could go back to hating me or whatever."

"Are you sure?" Dan asked skeptically.

"Positive! Let's just try it."

"I guess…I guess it couldn't hurt. But you have to promise not to tell anybody, okay?"

"Okay."

"Well then…I guess we're friends for a day!" Dan exclaimed, smiling in a joyous way that Phil had never seen before.

"I guess…yeah," Phil smiled softly. "Hey, do you wanna do something? We can't let this day go to waste."

"What is there to do?"

"We could,,," Phil searched around the room in a desperate attempt to form ideas. Suddenly, he had a great idea after realizing that the rain had let up. "We could go for a walk."

"Isn't that kind of gay?'

"Well if you'd rather not," Phil said, blushing.

"No, let's go. Nobody's going to be here to see anything. As long as we're back by four. That's when everybody starts showing up again."

* * *

**Sorry this one's short...and sorry it took so long. **

**I'm not going to make excuses on why, but if you want updates on this story, you can follow my blog .com. **

**_please review you'll get ten gold stars and a hamster_**


	6. Chapter 6

The woods surrounding the back of the school were wet. Water dripped from the trees, water trickled in streams over the ground, water mixed with the dirt to create muddy footprints in the ground. Water droplets smothered each and every plant. The sky was still grey and obscured the sun, making it a little bit cold. Dan and Phil walked next to each other, laughing and talking as they walked deeper into the heart of the woods. The boys took care not to get too close to each other, though. Phil didn't want to take his chances with Dan.

Phil carried in his backpack two sandwiches and two bottles of water that Dan had somehow gotten. Dan lead the way, claiming to know where they should go, so Phil didn't question him. Dan, however, wouldn't tell Phil where he was taking him, only assuring Phil every few minutes that they were getting closer. The woods were getting denser, the trees closer together, and the mostly obscured sun less able to shine through the trees, making it seem very dark. Dan turned off the path they were following, leading Phil between the dense shrubbery.

"Uh, Dan? Are you _sure_ you know where you're going?" Phil asked for the umpteenth time.

"I've lived here my entire life. I've been in the forest, like, a million times."

"Then where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," Dan smirked. "But we're close."

Up ahead, Phil noticed that he could see the sky. They stumbled upon a clearing. Here, the trees were sparse and Phil could finally see the sky visibly. It was still cloudy and grey—if possible, even darker than earlier, and it looked like it was going to start raining...again. Phil looked over at Dan, who had a huge grin forming on his face.

"We're here, Phil!" Dan exclaimed. "God, I love this place. You can't tell anybody about it, though."

"Got it. Um. What…do you want to do?"

"Eat?" Dan suggested.

"Sounds good," Phil grinned.

"We can sit over here, on these rocks," Dan said, leading Phil over to a few large rocks on the ground. Phil got the food out of the backpack while Dan set it out. He used one large rock as a table, while another few rocks could be used as a sort of chair. Dan sat on one side of the table rock, whilst Phil sat on the other side.

"So, you didn't tell me. Where did you get the food from?" Phil asked Dan.

Dan grinned that adorable little smirk that showed his adorable little dimple. Ugh. Dan was just so adorable and Phil wanted to bang his head against the rock in frustration because Dan wasn't into boys.

"What did you do?" Phil asked, as Dan wasn't answering, just grinning.

"I may have stolen it."

"_What_? From where?"

"The cafeteria," Dan answered, smirk changing into an amused smile that crinkled his eyes at Phil's shocked face.

"Wh—why didn't you just _pay _for it?"

"I didn't feel like it."

"You didn't _feel _like it?" Phil repeated.

"No."

Phil laughed. Dan was just so…adorable. He might not ever agree to that (Or even get to hear it. Phil didn't want to creep him out), but it was so true.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You're so ador—uh, funny," Phil caught himself. Dan suddenly smiled even bigger and…_was he blushing_? No, no, he was _not_. Phil decided to chalk it up to the long walk that they had taken to get here. It had been quite a bit of exercise, anyways.

The two boys started eating their lunches of stolen sandwiches, taking their time and savoring each other's company. Phil decided that his dry turkey and cheese sandwich wasn't even that good, but he didn't care. Because he was spending time with Dan, his crush, alone, deep in the woods. Maybe that sounded a little bit weird, but Phil didn't care. It felt very satisfying.

"So, um—" Dan took a giant bit of his sandwich. "How'shur lunsh?"

Phil grinned at Dan. How could he be so cute? "It's great," he lied.

The boys finished their lunches in a slightly awkward silence, undoubtedly both reveling in the fact that they were now practically friends when only a day ago Dan had barely wanted to look at Phil.

"You done?" Dan asked Phil.

"Yeah."

"Okay then, come here. I want to show you something!" Dan sprung up from his rock-chair and grabbed Phil's arm, leading him across the clearing to the base of a really, really tall tree.

"You can climb trees, right?" Dan asked.

Phil couldn't. Not really. He had tried, of course, as a child, but after falling from one and breaking his wrist, Phil hadn't exactly been very excited to climb any more trees. But Phil wasn't going to admit that to Dan. He didn't want Dan thinking he was weak.

"Yeah, I can," Phil hesitated.

"Awesome. So, the view up there is…it's breathtaking, Phil. I want to show you. When I was younger, I used to come up here all the time. Nobody ever knew. They still don't. Come on!" Dan grabbed the branch lowest to the ground a nimbly hoisted himself up, branch by branch. Phil was amazed at the agility the boy had when it came to climbing. He climbed the tree like one would climb a staircase: with familiarity and confidence. Dan was halfway to the top and Phil was still at the bottom staring at him, jaw unconsciously dropped.

"Phil?" Dan called, looking down. "You wanna come up here?"

"I…uh, yeah! Yeah, coming," Phil yelled up, shaking himself from his stupor. He cautiously grabbed the bottommost branch and attempted to pull himself up, but barely managed it because of his lacking upper body strength.

"D'you need help, Phil?" Dan shouted down.

"I've got it!" Phil said shakily.

"You sure?" Dan sounded unconvinced.

"Uh, yeah, I—AH!" Phil had gone to reach for another branch, but slipped. Luckily, he managed to catch himself, but he was shaking from the adrenaline coursing through his veins at the blunder. Before Phil could even go anywhere, Dan was next to him.

"We don't have to climb the tree if you want," Dan said sheepishly.

"No, I just slipped. I'm fi-i-i-i-ine!" Phil had lost his balance and let go of the tree for a split second. Suddenly, he felt one of Dan's arms wrap around his torso and his breath in his ear. They stayed frozen in that position for a moment before realizing what they had just done, and Dan quickly but carefully let go of Phil.

"I think I can climb up," Phil faltered.

"We don't have to," Dan quickly interjected.

"I can do it."

"Okay," Dan agreed softly. As Phil started to climb higher up the tree, Dan made sure to stay close to him in case he almost fell again. As Phil got higher and higher, he became acutely aware of how far away the ground actually was. It was _really_ far away. Like, so far away that if he fell, he would definitely break a bone. _Again_, Phil thought, grimacing internally.

"Are you good? We don't have to go any higher if you don't want," Dan offered.

"No, no, I'm fine. I just had some bad experiences with falling from trees when I was a kid. I broke my wrist and haven't exactly been too enthusiastic about climbing anything since then," Phil explained.

"Hey, if you don't—"

"No, really. I'm fine; it was ages ago. Are we close?"

"Yeah, it's just up a _little_ higher. C'mon!" Dan's speed increased and he clambered up ahead of Phil. Phil finally managed to get up to where Dan was. They sat next to each other on a branch that had barely any leaves obscuring their vision on the ground and world around them. Dan had his arm behind Phil but was careful not to touch him, and their legs just brushed against each other's as they dangled over more than fifty feet of open air.

"Phil, look," Dan whispered, pointing into the distance. It really was beautiful. From this high up, Phil could see…everything. He could see the expanse of the forest; its motley of verdure leaves covered as far as he could see in one direction. When Phil looked back the way they had come, he could see the grey, weathered, stone school, much smaller than it seemed when he was actually on the grounds. It was not as intimidating as it had seemed when he had first arrived. The sky could be seen clearly now, too, but it was still dark and cloudy.

"This is where I like to go when everything seems so much bigger than me," Dan whispered. "Because here I can see how even the biggest things are small from the right perspective. The school, for example. It's huge, but from here it looks like I could just squish it." Dan squinted his eyes and brought his fingers in front of his face and made a pinching motion, pretending to crush the school between his fingers. "And it helps me get perspective on things. Like, when I've got all these things happening in my life that I can't control, up here, I'm bigger than all of it. Nothing can touch me."

Phil was silent and reveled in Dan's philosophical words. He did have a point. From this high up, everything _did_ seem so tiny and powerless. Phil felt important; unreachable; untouchable. He felt like he was on top of the world.

"When my house got too out of control when I was younger, I would come up here and pretend to be the king of the world. I would pretend that I was in charge; not my dad; not my mom. Me. Nobody could tell be to study more or go to bed or stop fooling around or sit at the table right and listen. 'Don't do this Daniel! Do this! You can't question me or my authority!'" Dan mocked in a high falsetto. "_I'm_ in charge up here. But only here." Dan's voice broke. Phil's eyes widened. Was Dan…was he crying? Was he about to cry?

Dan sniffled and wiped his nose. "Phil, what do you feel up here?"

"Scared," Phil admitted quietly. "But…a kind of good scared. Because yes, I'm really high up and yes, I could fall and die, but…it's kind of humbling. Anything could happen, you know? I _could_ fall and die, but I probably won't. And that feels kind of powerful. Because everything always seems to be happening for a reason, and just knowing that right now, I'm on the better end of the stick because I'm alive and I haven't fallen yet is empowering."

"I've come up here once almost every single week since I was nine and I've never thought about it like that," Dan murmured.

"Sometimes you just need a different perspective."

"I guess you do."

Phil saw a cool wind sweep across the forest below and around him, rustling leaves and little animals out of their spots. The wind hit his face and whipped his black hair back from his porcelain skin. Phil closed his eyes and enjoyed the purity of the moment he was in. He was sitting here on the top of the forest with Dan, his incredibly sexy and adorable roommate, feeling a cool breeze caress his face and rustle the leaves around him. Right now, Phil felt pretty damn peaceful and blissed out and nothing was going to change it.

A drop of rain fell the sky and landed on Phil's head. Another drop fell onto Dan's arm. Suddenly, the rain droplets started coming down faster and faster.

"Shit, it's raining!" Dan exclaimed. "Come on, Phil. We've got to get back to the dorm."

"Are you sure we couldn't stay…?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Come on, let's go!" Dan said, clambering down the tree. "C'mon!"

Phil looked nervously at the ground. _It's so far away._ Carefully, Phil lowered himself from branch to branch, not wanting to slip. He looked down for a moment to see Dan standing on the ground already. Phil's fingers slipped, suddenly, on a slick branch, and he hastily caught himself, feeling a jolt in his stomach.

"Phil? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine!" Phil responded shakily. He continued climbing down the tree, ignoring the rain pouring down from the sky and soaking him. It was a warm rain, though, and Phil couldn't help but enjoy it a little. It felt good—almost cleansing. But it made it really hard to get down the tree. Right now, Phil was pretty jealous of Dan's amazing climbing ability. Phil had to pay extra close attention to every move he made to be sure that he wouldn't slip and fall, so when he finally reached the bottom, it felt like an eternity had passed.

"Finally!" Dan huffed, smiling a little and rolling his eyes. He looked soaked through and his hair hung limp and wet over his face. "Let's go, quick! We're going to drown or something, it's raining so hard."

Phil smiled and followed Dan as he started running. Dan could really run fast in this rain…and Phil realized that he couldn't. Especially when the ground was this slippery. All of a sudden, Phil felt his feet slip out from under him and he landed butt-first onto the muddy ground. He groaned in pain. _I think I broke my butt,_ he thought, grimacing. But when Phil looked up, he realized that Dan hadn't stopped. He probably hadn't even noticed that Phil wasn't with him.

"Dan! Daaan!" Phil called, getting up and standing still. "DAAAAAN!"

Still, no one came. Phil tried yelling his name again and again, but he didn't come. Dan was probably too far ahead at this point to hear him. Phil didn't know what to do now. He had no idea how to get back, and if he tried, he'd probably end up getting only more lost. His only hope was to stay there and wait for Dan to come back to him. _But what if he didn't?_ Phil couldn't help wondering. Nonsense. Of course Dan would come back…right? They were friends now, and friends cared about each other. So while Phil was waiting, he found a rock to sit on near the side of the path.

It was quite hard to ignore the rain. At first, it _had_ been a pretty nice rain. It was warm and kind of refreshing. But that had been before it had gotten so ridiculously strong that Phil couldn't see in front of him. The trees had become a grey, blurred mess. Dan would _never_ find him at this point. Maybe he was looking for him, though. He had to be!

"DAAAAN!" Phil tried again. _Please, _please_ answer me,_ Phil thought. _Please_.

"Is—PHIL! PHIL, IS THAT YOU?"

Was that Dan?

"DAN!"

"PHIL, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I'M OVER HERE!"

"WHERE IS THAT?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"CAN YOU DESCRIBE IT?"

"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! IT'S RAINING _REALLY HARD_ IF YOU HADN'T NOTICED!"

"HOLD ON—ARE YOU—"

Phil felt a hand on his arm and jumped.

"Dan! Oh my god, I thought that I'd be lost forever in here!" Phil gasped.

"Well, I found you," Dan smirked. "Come on, and don't get lost this time!" Suddenly, Dan grabbed Phil's hand and started running. Phil was in such a shock that Dan was freaking _holding his hand_ that he nearly fell over again and was mostly relying on Dan dragging him through the forest to continue moving. Maybe Dan did like boys…? No, no. He didn't. He couldn't. It wasn't _that_ gay to hold his hand, was it? Friends did that, didn't they? And Dan just didn't want him to get lost. _But he could have grabbed his arm or something, right_? Well, hands were just easier to hold, Phil decided.

Nonetheless, Phil couldn't stop a warm feeling from spreading through his body that started in his hand. It made him feel warm and fuzzy. It spread to his stomach and filled it with happy butterflies. It _definitely_ wasn't meant in a way other that convenience, but Phil was enjoying it in a totally gay way.

When Dan had finally dragged Phil out of the forest, both of them were sweating (not like you could even tell in the rain) and doubled over, breathing heavily and trying not to inhale any water. Dan had his hands on his knees and Phil was leaning on Dan, enjoying himself a little too much.

"We…made…it!" Phil breathed, then started coughing. He was not used to this to this kind of exercise—in fact, the most he ever got was from walking around his house. Dan thumped him on the back and Phil managed to stop.

"Finally!" Dan gasped.

The boys stood there until they caught their breaths, which took quite a few minutes. Phil nearly hacked up a lung and almost passed out, so Dan decided that they had better get back to the dorm.

They started walking back when Phil felt everything get really blurry. Suddenly, the ground rose up fast towards Phil's head and he had fallen over.

"Phil? Phil, are you okay? Phil?" Dan asked, panicked.

"I—yeah, I'm fine. Just…exhausted." Phil tried to get up, so Dan grabbed his arm to steady him. Dan let Phil use him as support and wrapped his arm around his shoulders to keep him from falling again.

"Thanks," Phil managed.

"Don't talk. I've got you."

Phil practically melted again at what Dan said. _That was so cute, oh my god!_

Dan finally guided them both to the pavement that went around the school, glancing around suspiciously to make sure that nobody could see them. It was unlikely that anyone would be around anyways, as it was raining and there was practically nobody at the school, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Dan didn't want anyone to have the slightest idea that they were friends, let alone roommates. He couldn't risk anybody thinking that he was gay, as he had heard enough horror stories of students that had gotten bullied—even killed—for it. Practically holding Phil on open grounds was risky, and Dan didn't like that. They had to get back as fast as they could; especially before the students started coming back.

Phil coughed again, and Dan looked down at him, worried.

"You good? We're almost back. Just a few minutes longer," Dan reassured.

Phil nodded. Dan continued guiding him back to the dorm, watching out for anybody that might see him.

Dan heard two voices in the rain.

"Ugh, oh my _god_, Lily. My hair is _frizzy!_"

"Jesus Christ, Avery! Look at my _shoes_! I literally _just _got them this weekend and now they're _ruined_!"

"I hate rain! I wish I was back at my Dad's island. It, like, never rains there."

Dan quickly assessed the situation they were in. Their building, building B, was just around the corner. If Phil could just run a little bit, they wouldn't be seen.

"Phil," Dan whispered into Phil's ear, "I need you to run. Just down the path and into the building, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

They started running as silently yet fast as possible, taking care not to splash too loudly. Dan practically pushed Phil into their building and down the hall into the lift, pressing the button for the second floor, letting the door close behind them. They were silent all the way up the lift and to the dorm room, until the door shut behind them. Dan locked it.

"That was close," Phil said.

Dan and Phil started laughing. Their day had been fun, but it had quickly gotten stressful, and they needed the release. Phil felt very satisfied, however. He had been able to spend his time with Dan in a good way, where both of them had enjoyed it, and he felt happy. He might have been dangerously exhausted, but it had been fun. He loved what had happened today. Dare he say it could have been the best day in his life?

Dan started stripping his wet clothes off, shivering as he went. Phil really just wanted to go over there and hug him and kiss him and that _chest_—oh, shush, Phil reprimanded himself. Phil realized, though, that he, too, was wet and freezing, so he changed into something much more comfortable—a t-shirt and some boxers. He took care not to look at Dan anymore, lest his very gay and very uncontrollable, unable-to-be-acted-upon thoughts return. And as he was exhausted, Phil got under the warm, soft covers of his bed, uncaring of the time (though his bedside clock said 4:08).

"Phil? You're okay, right? What happened?" Dan asked. Phil looked over at him to see him sitting on his bed in only boxers. _Jesus Christ, really? How much sexier could this day get?_

"I'm fine. I practically never exercise and then I sprinted, like, a mile or something in the rain," Phil said.

"Oh. Well, get some rest, then. You need it. I'll bring you some dinner up here."

"Don't steal it," Phil murmured as he shut his eyes.


End file.
